Sands of Darkness, Book 1: Jade Mountain Academy
by The Guardian of Timelines
Summary: Cobra has been a loyal Outclaw his entire life. But when Thorn becomes Queen, he decides he can serve her best if he attends the new Jade Mountain Academy. She allows him to go, but he has a secret that he has hidden forever. Will Cobra's secret consume him? That is the one question that has yet to be answered.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Queen Thorn read the letter for the third time and then shifted her gaze to the dragonet standing in front of her. He was completely silent, except for one claw that tapped the floor at regular intervals

"You are absolutely certain that you want to do this Cobra?" she asked, putting the letter down. "In my opinion, you would be of more use here."

Cobra politely dipped his head before saying "In all regards, Queen Thorn, I feel that I could be of more use if I attend the academy and the come back here

"I still think you should stay. You're one of the strongest dragons I have" Thorn said, eyeing Cobra's thick, muscular arms. He was more muscular then an SandWing she had ever seen, and that was one of the reasons back when she had led The Outclaws she had allowed him to join./

She stayed silent for a while, watching Cobra fidget with on of the black stones he had gotten set under his scales down the length of his neck on either side.

Very well Cobra." She finally said. "You can attend Jade Mountain Academy."


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Cobra landed outside the entrance to Jade Mountain Academy and looked around. All around him, dragons from every tribe mingled. Shaking his head slightly, he turned and walked inside. Before he could even survey his surroundings, somebody behind him growled "Move it SandWing."

Cobra turned around and found himself face to face with a SkyWing. The SkyWing stepped closer and hissed "Are you deaf? I said move!"

"I'm not deaf." Cobra said calmly. "I just don't listen to snobby dragons like yourself."

The SkyWing roared in fury and lashed out at Cobra. Acting instinctively, Cobra sidestepped, then whipped his tail around, stopping it right before the poisonous barb caught the SkyWing in the throat.

The SkyWing froze and Cobra lowered his tail, backing away. He turned around and almost instantly heard movement behind him. Whirling back to face the SkyWing again, he threw a punch with his right talon, catching the SkyWing squarely in the jaw.

The SkyWing flew backwards and landed on the ground, unmoving. Everyone was silent as Cobra walked out of the cave. As soon as he was outside, he spread his wings and lifted off, just wanting to get away from it all.

After a few minutes, he heard wingbeats behind him. Glancing backwards, he saw a NightWing behind him. He stopped and turned around, waiting for them to catch up.

"That was pretty impressive." The NightWing said as he came to a stop. "You knocked that SkyWing out cold."

Cobra looked away and the NightWing hurriedly added "Look, I'm just here because I'm the only one who was willing to come after you."

"For what reason?" Cobra asked warily.

"Sunny told me to tell you that you aren't going to get in any trouble for getting into a fight. She's hoping that you will decide to stay."

"I guess….." Cobra said uncertainly.

"Great!" The NightWing exclaimed, then added sheepishly. "My name is Nightreader. What's yours?"

"Cobra." He said shortly.

"Oh! I'm clawmates with you!" Nightreader said happily. "You'll be able to tell me how you got to be so strong!"

Despite himself, Cobra smiled. Maybe he was wrong to think he had no chance at making new friends. It seemed like he had one already.

 **A/N:**

 **So, I hope you like where this story is going. I'm taking OC's for a MudWing, a SeaWing, a RainWing, and an IceWing. Later in the story I might need more characters, but that's all I need for now. Use the following format for any OC requests:**

 **Name:**

 **Age:**

 **Gender:**

 **Tribe:**

 **Description:**

 **Jewelry (If any):**

 **Other:**


	3. Chapter 2

****Chapter Two****

 ** _ **Cobra stood in the courtyard of Thorns palace. As he watched, the palace caught fire. He tried to do something, he tried to run towards it, but he was frozen to the spot. All he could do was watch in horror as the palace burned to the ground.**_**

He woke with a start and glanced around him frantically. He saw Nightreader fast asleep in the moss bed that had been in their cave and he relaxed. It was just a dream.

He got up and crept out into the hallway. Earlier, Nightfighter had taken him to see the library. That was his destination.

As he walked up the hallway, he unconsciously fidgeted with one of is neck stones. He had fallen into the habit the very day they had been set under his scales.

He turned into the tunnel that led to the library and slowed down a bit. He wasn't really in that much of a hurry to get there.

He stepped into the library and looked around. When he had first been in here, Starflight had been behind the librarian's desk, but he was nowhere to be seen now. Shrugging, Cobra headed over to the section that he had discovered had anything about the Kingdom of Sand in it.

As he reached for a scroll, a voice behind him said "It wasn't your fault this morning Cobra."

Startled, he whirled around, his tail arcing up only to curl back up as he recognized the golden colored SandWing in front of him.

"I'm the one who knocked the SkyWing out Sunny." he said.

"The SkyWing was being rude to you in the first place, and he attacked you first." Sunny said softly, walking up to him and resting one of her talons on his arm. "You acted in self-defense."

"I guess…" Cobra said, then shook his head. "I just don't like people who boss me around."

Sunny raised an eyebrow. "You apparently didn't mind my mother bossing you around when she was the leader of The Outclaws." she pointed out.

"That was different." Cora said. Sunny looked like she was going to object, so he quickly added "I should go back and try to get back to sleep."

Before she could say anything else, he hurried out of the library and back to his cave. As he came through the entrance, he heard Nightfighter mutter in his sleep "The dragon of Sand, crystal, future, dark." then he snorted and rolled over and started snoring.

Cobra settled back into his sleeping area and closed his eyes. I wonder what all that was about. He thought as he tried to fall asleep. Just before sleep claimed him, he thought Nightreader can never find out about my secret. Nobody can.

 ** **A/N:****

 ** **So, the suspense builds! When will Cobra's secret be revealed? Only time will tell! Also, I desperately need those OC's I mentioned in the Authors Note in the last chapter. They are going to be needed in the next chapter and I can't write it without them, so please, hurry with those as fast as you can! I will give credit in Authors Notes to the makers of the OC's.****


	4. Chapter 3

****Chapter Three****

Cobra woke up when a loud gong sounded three times. Bleary eyed, he watched Nightreader as he got up. Cobra's eyes slowly closed again and he started to drift back to sleep, but he was abruptly woken up by a bowl of water to the face.

"Wha?" He spluttered, sitting bolt upright, water running down his neck. Nightreader chuckled softly to himself as he set the wooden bowl back in its place.

"We have our first small group-discussion class today." He explained. "We have to get to the library."

Slowly, Cobra dragged himself to his feet and followed Nightreader as the NightWing hurried to the library. As he stepped into the room, Cobra felt himself start to relax. Looking around, Cobra found that the only other dragons in the room were Sunny and a black-red colored dragonet.

"Cobra, Nightreader, glad to see that you made it!" Sunny said cheerfully, and the dragonet turned around to look at them.

"My name's Shadowstalker." He said as an introduction.

"But, that's a NightWing name." Cobra said, confused.

"I'm a NightWing-SkyWing hybrid." Shadowstalker growled.

"Shadowstalker wanted to attend but we had already filled the winglets up." Sunny said, jumping into the middle of the conversation. "But the Crystal Winglets original SkyWing had to be taken back to the Sky Kingdom for healing, so we sent for Shadowstalker."

 _Our original SkyWing was probably the one I knocked out cold on my first day here_ Cobra thought guiltily. _I hurt him_ that _bad?_

The gong sounded again, only twice this time, and then sound of talons on stone reached his ears, and he turned around to see a RainWing and a MudWing walking into the library together.

"Lantana and Lilly, correct?" Sunny asked the two newcomers.

The RainWing nodded, the MudWing just looking around at the library.

"I'm Lantana." The RainWing said, her scales staying a pink color instead of changing to reflect her emotions, like every other RainWings scales who Cobra had met had done.

"I'm Cobra, this is my clawmate Nightreader, and the black-and-red dragon is Shadowstalker." Cobra said, introducing them to Lantana and Lilly.

"Well, now we just need our SeaWing and our IceWing." Nightreader said after a few seconds of silence.

The gong sounded one final time and then Cobra heard hurried talonsteps coming down the tunnel. A SeaWing and an IceWing bearreled into the library, breathing heavily.

"Whitetip and Frostbite, correct?" Sunny asked them, and they nodded, still out of breath.

"Well, now that all of you are here, I guess we can move forward." Sunny said, gesturing for them to sit down. As Cobra moved to sit down, he noticed Lilly casting a dark look at Frostbite.

 _I'll have to see what is going on there_. He thought to himself. _Or somebody might get hurt._

 ** **A/N:****

 ** **Thanks to the following for contributing OC's:****

 ** **Shadowstalker & Lilly - Dragonsmatter****

 ** **Lantana - LemonDrops334****

 ** **Whitetip - IndigoWingedWolf****

 ** **Frostbite - Personal OC****

 ** **So, now that we've met the entire Crystal Winglet, what happens now? If you think the story is just going to get boring from this point forward, you're wrong. We all know about the Jade Mountain Prophecy, but what if there was a second prophecy? One that was so small that nobody ever really knew about it.****


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

"So, why don't we do introductions?" Sunny said as soon as everyone was seated. "You probably already know me, but my name is Sunny. I'm one of the ones who is running the academy, my mother is Queen Thorn, and I'm really hoping that this will work out. Nightreader, Why don't you go next?"

"Okay!" Nightreader exclaimed. "My name is Nightreader, my favorite color is black, and I love learning." He poked Cobra in the side. "Your turn!"

"My name is Cobra, my favorite color is yellow, and I like to do physical training." Cobra said slowly.

"My name is Shadowstalker, I live in the Sky Kingdom, and my favorite color is dark red." Shadowstalker muttered loudly.

Sunny nodded at them and then looked at Lantana. The RainWing stood up and confidently said "My name is Lantana, I live in the rainforest, and I think that this school was a great idea." She sat down and nudged Lilly.

"My name is Lilly, my favorite color is brown, and I like making friends." The MudWing said nervously.

Frostbite stood up and said "My name is Frostbite, I am a prince of the IceWings, although everybody seems to forget that, and I like ice."

"Oh, so we have to call you Prince Frostbite?" Shadowstalker asked sarcastically. Frostbite flared his wings and glares at him, but Sunny quickly said "Frostbite, if it's ok, I think we should just drop your title."

The IceWing nodded and sat down, still glaring at Shadowstalker. Whitetip spoke up, saying calmly "My name is Whitetip, I like swimming, and my favorite color is blue."

Everyone turned and looked at Sunny, expectantly. She smiled and said "All the other teachers are going to be actually teaching their winglets, but I'm going to let you guys do whatever you like. I've got to go help out somewhere else." She moved towards one of the tunnels heading out of the library and said. "Just don't do anything that you shouldn't." Then she headed out of the room.

There was a second of peace and quiet. Then Nightreader gasped and stumbled back slightly, his talons at his temples. Cobra rushed to his friends side, grabbing his arm to steady the NightWing.

"Nightreader, what is it?" Cobra asked, but Nightreader didn't answer. His eyes had gone blank and he spoke in a voice unlike his own:

 **"The dragon of Sand from Crystal,**

 **A future of dark shall bring."**

 **The rise of Darkness and its Stalker,**

 **Shall bring the mountain of peace down."**

Nightreader collapsed limply into Cobras arms and he set his friend down gently, his mind racing. He looked at the members of his wing let and saw the same confused look on all their faces.

"That sounded like a prophecy, yet I thought those powers were gone." Frostbite hissed, his eyes narrowed.

"I have future sight." Nightreader murmured, slowly getting back to his feet.

"You heard what it said though. Something is going to bring down Jade Mountain!" Whitetip said, his wings flaring.

"It didn't actually say that the mountain was this one." Frostbite said critically.

"Actually," Cobra began. "This academy is supposed to make peace between the tribes and we are inside a mountain, so technically you could refer to Jade Mountain Academy as a "mountain of peace."

Everyone stared at him for a minute or two and he snapped "What? Just because I like to do stuff physically doesn't mean I'm not intelligent."

"Well, we have to try and stop this prophecy from being fulfilled." Nightreader said, his eyes narrowed.

Everyone agreed, then Frostbite spoke up, saying "Uhhhh, not to be the voice of stopping this or anything, but what do you think they will do when our entire winglet suddenly disappears?"

For a few seconds, nobody answered. Everyone realized the truth of what Frostbite was saying. They would be searched for until they were found.

Well, now is as good as any time to tell them. Cobra thought.

"I can handle that." He said, and everyone looked at him.

"How?" Frostbite asked him, eyes narrowed.

Taking a deep breath to try and slow his racing heart, Cobra said "Because I'm an Animus.

 **A/N:**

 **And now the secret is out! Now that you know Cobra's secret, think about the prophecy then submit a review about what you think will happen. I like getting the readers opinions, so I might ask for advice on what should happen next and ask you to think stuff over constantly. Also, for future reference; Inferno was the name of the SkyWing that fought with Cobra in chapter one. We're going to be seeing him reappear later on in the story. Whether friend or foe, I tell you not.**


	6. ApologyPoll

****Apology****

 **Ok, I'm sorry about the mess up when I posted Chapter Four, but my computer has this weird thing where if I type stuff into the copy-and-paste box, it HTML formats it. I was at my school when I posted it and they don't give people the WIFI password, and all of chapter four was on my iPad and I had to type it up. Hopefully you can forgive me and I'll try to not make mistakes like that in the future.**

 **Also, as I said, I like getting my readers insight, so what do you think should happen in chapter 5?**

 **1) The Crystal winglet runs into Inferno (Friend or Foe has already been decided)**

 **2) They decide to try and search the entire continent for a way to prevent their prophecy from occurring.**

 **3) They _accidentally_ stumble upon the cave system where the Dragonets of Destiny were kept.**

 **4) They decide to try and search the entire continent for a way to prevent their prophecy from occurring _AND_ they run into Inferno.**


	7. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Cobra winced as everyone started asking him questions at once. Trying to stay calm, he noticed Whitetip looking at him strangely. Resolving to find out what it was about later, he turned his attention back to the others.

"Look, I know that this is really startling, but just let it go, ok?" He asked everyone. They all stopped talking and and looked at each other, then Nightreader nodded.

"Okay, now, don't talk and I might be able to figure out how to help us escape unnoticed." Cobra said, turning and walking a couple of steps away.

 _Okay, so the real problem is who the spell affects. If I make it affect everyone who is not of the Crystal winglet, we might lose some possible allies._ He thought, sitting down. _However,if I make the enchantment affect only the Dragonets of Destiny, Fatespeaker, and anyone else who teaches here, then that might work. But then I would also have to remove any mention of our winglet from any written records._

"How's it going?" A voice behind him asked and he flinched, chastising himself for letting someone sneak up on him.

"Jeez, you sure are jumpy." Lantana sat down next to him. "You weren't just joking when you said you were an Animus, right?"

Cobra shook his head. "That was the truth." He muttered. "No, shush. I need to focus to cast this spell correctly."

Lantana obligingly fell silent and Cobra focused as hard as he could, thinking _Enchant the Dragonets of Destiny, Fatespeaker, and any other dragon who teaches at Jade Mountain Academy, along with any written records, to completely forget any information regarding the Crystal Winglet or any dragonets in it._

As always, as soon as he had finished casting the spell, a chill shiver seemed to work its way through his body. Repressing a shudder, he stood up, Lantana following his lead. Walking over to the others, he gave a little nod.

"You did it?" Frostbite asked, his eyes narrowed.

"Yes, I did." Cobra answered, meeting Frostbite's gaze.

"Well, let's get going before somebody sees us." Nightreader said, going over to one of the library's windows and slowly cutting away the leaf that covered it. Everyone flew out, but before Nightreader followed them he pointed at Cobra, then at the leaf.

Nodding, Cobra followed his friend out the window before touching one talon to it. As if it had come to life, the sliced edges came back together and mended, leaving behind no trace at all.

"Now what?" Lilly asked, hovering in place.

"I guess we start searching for a way to stop the prophecy from coming true." Whitetip responded, looking around. "Only question is, where do we go?"

"I'm seeing us go that way." Nightreader said, pointing towards the northwest. "So I guess we go that way."

"That's the best lead we've gotten so far." Shadowstalker grumbled as they all flew northwest. "So why do I feel like something bad is going to happen soon?"

Cobra looked down at the mountainous landscape in midair, he glared at Nightreader

"I don't see anything that is helpful in our search, Nightreader." He said accusingly. The NightWings only response was a shrug.

"I can't tell you _why_ we came this way. That not how my visions work." He responded.

Before Cobra could fire a snappy response back at him, Lantana, who had decided to explore on the ground, yelled up to them "HEY! I don't know if it matters, but I just found a skeleton!"

As one, the winglet dove and landed around Lantana's find. Cobra paced around it, eyeing the skeleton.

"What tribe is it from?" Whitetip asked, glancing around nervously.

"I..I think it's an IceWing." Frostbite said softly, stepping closer to it. "Though I don't know what an IceWing skeleton would be doing here."

Cobra glanced up from the skeleton and noticed a river running nearby. Walking over to it, he looked up at the nearby mountain then back at the skeleton.

"He must have been thrown off the mountain." He said, keeping his voice silent.

"Hey guys?" Lilly said, her voice quavering slightly. "Look at this."

Cobra looked just in time to see the MudWing gingerly holding an old shard of eggshell. He walked over and peered at it closely.

"I think it used to be red." He announced. "But it's hard to be certain since it's so faded."

"SkyWing eggs are red." Shadowstalker offered helpfully.

"I'm going to explore up the river." Cobra said. Before anyone could object, he walked over to the river and started following it as it wound its way through the mountains. He rounded a corner and stopped as he saw a hole in the side of the mountain.

"Hey guys! I found something!" He yelled over his shoulder. He heard his friends coming towards him so he ducked through the hole and very nearly went right back out.

Right in the entrance to the cave system was another skeleton. It was in slightly better condition since it wasn't exposed to the elements, but Cobra automatically Knew what tribe it was from.

"Why do we keep finding skeletons?" Nightreader asked from behind him.

"I don't know, but this one's a SandWing." Cobra replied. There wasn't any reply from behind him, so he took a few more steps until he could clearly see that there were three tunnels and a cave branching off of there little entrance.

"Okay, Lantana and Shadowstalker, you check that one." He said, indicating the tunnel closest to the entrance. "Lilly, you and Whitetip take the one opposite it. Frostbite, you take the third tunnel. Nightreader and I will check out the cave."

All the dragonets nodded and they started exploring the spaces they had been assigned. Cobra and Nightreader walked forward into the cave and found themselves looking at...a cave.

"I was expecting something a bit more….exciting." Nightreader huffed.

Ignoring his friend, Cobra breathed a small plume of fire and it glinted off of something on the ground. He walked over to it and knelt, picking the thing up.

"What is it?" Nightreader asked.

"Chains." He replied, his mind racing.

They heard talonsteps behind them and Frostbite entered the cave. Cobra dropped the chains and stood back up.

"All that was down that tunnel was the smallest library you can ever imagine." The IceWing grumbled.

Nightreader shot Cobra an incredulous look, but pieces were starting to fit together inside Cobra's mind.

"We found another cave that had a place for a fire in the center, with the river running through it." Lantana said as she and Shadowstalker walked into the cave.

Lilly and Whitetip walked into the cave and everyone looked at them. Whitetip looked at Lilly, then said "Our tunnel ended in a cave that seemed to have been used for battle training. There were multiple scratches all over the ground and a bunch of smashed up stalagmites."

"I think I know where we are." Cobra said, causing everyone to look at him. "Think about it. It's got a really secret entrance that I'm sure could be blocked off, there's a small library and a battle training cave, and there is also a separate cave from this one that was obviously meant for dragons to live in."

"I see where you are going with this." Nightreader said, a slight grin on his face. "You think we've found the cave system where the Dragonets of Destiny were raised.

Cobra shrugged. "I'm open to other suggestions and ideas." He said. Nobody seemed to have another answer, so he added "And it seems to fit what we've heard about where they were raised perfectly."

"I still feel like something bad is about to happen." Shadowstalker muttered. "The past should be left alone."

"I disagree." A new voice said, one that sounded strangely familiar to Cobra. "In fact, I have some _past_ business that I need to settle with your SandWing."

They all turned to look at the entrance of the cave as a SkyWing entered. He looked normal until his face emerged from the shadows of the entryway. His lower jaw was at a slight angle to his upper jaw and didn't match up with it correctly. He glared at all of them. But when his gaze swept over Cobra, his eyes flared with rage.

"Remember me, _SandWing_?" He hissed, and Cobra shuddered, his mind flashing back to the exact moment his talon had met that jaw and done that to this dragon.

"Y...yes." Cobra stammered, shaking slightly. "I..I..I remember you."

"Good. I wouldn't want you to die without knowing who killed you." The SkyWing snarled.

Frostbite narrowed his eyes at the SkyWing. "If you want Cobra, you have to go through us first." He hissed.

"You misunderstand me. I'm not going to kill you." The SkyWing said, his voice cold. "You get to fight for your life."

"The Arena is closed Inferno." Shadowstalker spoke up. "And even you can't change Queen Ruby's mind about that."

"I don't need that Arena." Inferno growled. "I have my own. And I'll drag you there if I have to." He snapped two of his claws together and all of a sudden SkyWings began pouring into the cav. The Crystal Winglet grouped together, ready to defend themselves.

"You can't win." Inferno said. "These are my followers, dragons who believe in revenge. I call them my Blazing Talons." He pointed at the winglet and his dragons surged forward.

Cobra snarled and touched one of the stones on his neck. He pointed in a random direction and a spire of stone shot out of the ground, slamming into any enemies that were in it's way.

Lantana vanished and a few seconds later one of the SkyWings screamed as something black splattered all over his scales.

Frostbite breathed wide swaths of his frostbreath, causing a lot of SkyWings to back away from him.

But eventually, the sheer numbers of their enemy overwhelmed them. Cobra was working on defending Lilly, who had been knocked out by a SkyWing, when he caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye. As he turned, he felt something hit him hard on the back of his head, followed by a burst of light that spread across his vision. Slowly, his vision faded to black.

 **A/N:**

 **So, now it starts to get interesting. We have the Crystal Winglet capture d by the Blazing Talons, which are led by a vengeful Inferno. We can only imagine the horrors that lay in store for Cobra and his friends. Now, which of the dragonets do you want to see first?**

 **1) Cobra**

 **2) Nightreader**

 **3) Shadowstalker**

 **4) Whitetip**

 **5) Frostbite**

 **6) Lilly**

 **7) Lantana**

 **And to help you decide, here is the OC that the dragonet** _ **you**_ **choose will be facing off against:**

 **Name: Firestorm**

 **Age: 25**

 **Gender: Male**

 **Description: A good sized, heavily muscular SkyWing with red scales**

 **Jewlery: None**

 **Other: Like fighting and has never been defeated in combat before**


	8. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Cobra groaned as he opened his eyes. He expected to be face to face with Inferno, but what he didn't expect was to be face to face with a pink RainWing.

"Lantana!" He yelled, jerking backwards. "Why are you in my face?"

"Maybe because your warm and this cell is cold stone." She answered, getting up and walking over to him only to settle down next to him again.

Cobra looked around at the walls of their cell. They were gray stone and when he looked at the entrance he saw a barred metal gate.

"What happened?" He asked, rubbing a sore spot on the back of his head.

"Well, a SkyWing whacked you on the back of the head. That's why it hurts." Lantana said. "After that five of them were able to get to Frostbite and subdue him. Whitetip also got knocked out, along with Nightreader. Inferno personally knocked Shadowstalker out after Shadowstalker defeated at least twelve of his followers. I would have been able to escape, but Inferno had left a SkyWing in the entrance to the cave and I flew right into him." She grimaced and rubbed her head. "Pretty sure he knocked me out as well."

"Where are the others?" He asked, worried about his friends.

She shrugged. "I don't know. I woke up when they threw me into here. I was barely able to catch you."

Cobra sighed and stood up. Lantana complained as he walked away from her, but he ignored her and went over to the entrance. Looking through the bars, he saw a cell identical to their own across from the. He could only guess that there were more on the sides of them.

"Nightreader, Shadowstalker, Frostbite, Whitetip, Lilly? You guys there?" He called softly.

There was a rustling sound across the hall and then Cobra saw Whitetip at the bars.

"Cobra? That you?" The SeaWing asked.

"Yes, and Lantana is in here as well." He called back.

"Lucky You. I'm stuck with Frostbite. They put some sort of muzzle on him, so now he can't use his frostbreath or speak and he's sulking about it." Whitetip said, glancing over his shoulder into the darkness of the cell.

"I'm pretty sure this is a special area just for us." Came Nightreader's voice off to Cobra's right.

"Nightreader, who's in your cell?" Cobra asked, relief filling his body.

"I'm in here with Shadowstalker and Lilly." Nightreader said. "Also, I think this is a circular cave, because opposite our cell I can see a tunnel."

"Well, I'm glad we aren't separated." Cobra said. "I just wish we weren't together in here."

"Agreed." Came Lilly's quiet voice.

"Wait, somebody's coming down the tunnel." Nightreader said.

Cobra felt Lantana come up beside him, but he didn't look at her. Instead, he raised his tail, ready for an attempt to escape.

Lantana poked him. "You can't use your tail to fight right now." She said.

Cobra glanced at her incredulously, the looked at his tail. A metal cage had been fastened over the end, covering the barbed end.

"They knew what they were doing." He grumbled.

"When they threw you in, a SandWing came in here and fastened that on." Lantana explained quietly. "I think he was going to try and put a muzzle on me, but I spat poison at him when he tried to approach me, so he decided to leave me alone."

Cobra opened his mouth to say something, but then Inferno emerged into the cave, followed by a SandWing wearing a metal mask and another SkyWing. Cobra eyed the SkyWing nervously. They had giant muscles and were bigger than the SandWing.

"Well, I'm glad to see that all of you are awake." Inferno said, the dim torchlight glinting off of a necklace he was wearing.

There was a rustling sound in the cell where Whitetip and Frostbite were being kept, then there was a clang as a silvery shape slammed into the bars. Inferno just looked at the IceWing haughtily as Frostbite picked himself off the ground and glared at him.

"When is the first one going to fight Inferno?" The SandWing said. Cobra's head snapped around and he stared at the SandWing.

"The hybrid is going to fight first." Inferno snarled. "Then you get to fight the SandWing."

"When?" The other SkyWing asked, his talons clenched.

"Now. Adder, you get the SandWing and the hybrid. Firestorm, go to the arena." Inferno hissed. "Adder, first bring the SandWing to my viewing box, then take the hybrid into the arena."

Adder nodded and started toward Cobra and Lantana's cell. He unlocked the gate and swung it open. As he started to reach for him, Cobra leapt, slamming into Adder's chest and knocking him backwards. Adder landed on his back and Cobra was on top of him, pinning him down. He jammed his claws under the mask and ripped it off.

"So, this is where you went." He hissed, glaring down at the familiar face. "I thought you were dead, Adder."

"The Adder you knew _is_ dead." Adder snarled. "I'm a new and improved version of him. One who knows how to fit into the world."

Cobra snarled and was about to rip Adder's throat out when he heard a cry of warning from Lantana. He turned, but, was too late to prevent the blow that landed across the back of his head, knocking him off Adder and causing his vision to go black.

Cobra came to when a bowl of water was thrown into his face. Spluttering, he tried to sit up, but chains kept him restrained.

"Welcome back SandWing." Inferno said, sitting in a chair on his right. "I hope your hybrid friend is a good fighter. Otherwise this fight is going to be extremely short and boring."

Cobra realized that he had been positioned to see into the arena. On one side, Firestorm stood, while opposite him Shadowstalker sat. Adder stood on Inferno's right. With a nod from Inferno, he stepped forward.

"Firestorm of the SkyWings will now fight Shadowstalker the NightWing-SkyWing hybrid." He announced.

Firestorm stalked towards Shadowstalker, who slowly stood up and stretched his wings. Firestorm suddenly jumped towards him, and Shadowstalker leapt into action, dodging Firestorm before jumping onto his back and digging in with his claws.

Firestorm roared in fury and backed up towards one of the arena walls. Shadowstalker leapt off as Firestorm crashed into the wall, then jumped at him, clawing like mad. Firestorm swiped at Shadowstalker but missed. Shadowstalker sliced Firestorms throat and with one last roar Firestorm fell down and crashed into an unmoving heap. Shadowstalker slowly backed up then sat down, glaring up in Inferno's direction.

"Well, that was interesting." Inferno remarked. "Tranquilize him. I'm not going to risk any of my followers trying to get him back to his cell."

Adder nodded then made a gesture at a RainWing that had dark red scales. They pulled something out of a bag and put it to their mouth, and a second later Shadowstalker clasped a talon to his neck. He wobbled for a second, then collapsed. A few SkyWings ran out into the arena and grabbed him, carrying him off.

"Your turn, SandWing." Inferno growled, and Cobra felt the chains being removed from him and five pairs of strong talons grabbed him.

 _I never thought it would come to this._ Cobra thought as he was carried down a dark passage. _That I would need to make a decision between either my life...or that of the brother I thought was dead._


	9. Chapter 7

****Chapter Seven****

Cobra stood across from his brother, his newly freed tail twitching. He saw the SkyWing that had taken Adder's place next to Inferno step forward and announce "Adder of the SandWings will now fight Cobra of the SandWings."

Cobra inched forward, eyeing Adder. His brother smiled, but Cobra could see the edge of his mouth twitching.

Adder suddenly lunged at Cobra, stabbing at his heart with his tail. Cobra dodged, but then gave a yelp of surprise as he felt Adder's weight on top of him.

Cobra gazed into his brother's eyes. Adder met Cobra's eyes, then whispered "I never knew that this would be so difficult. I always thought I would be able to do this."

"Then help me get my friends out of here." Cobra hissed. "You're still good inside, I know it."

Adder said nothing, but he reached into a pouch on his waist and withdrew a ring with a single key on it. Putting it in one of Cobra's talons, he whispered "I'll try to buy you and your friends some time to escape. I hope we can see each other again."

Cobra gave a short nod, then Adder surged up off of him, charging towards Inferno's viewing box. Cobra didn't stay any second longer than he had to, but darted out of the arena, hearing a thud as a dart sunk into the wood of the door. He skidded to a stop at a intersection and looked at the three tunnels that faced him.

He heard something behind him and whirled around, his tail barn stabbing into the chest of the SkyWing that was right behind them. They gave a small shriek of pain, then fell dead at his feet.

He returned his gaze to the tunnels just as a silvery blur flew out of one of them and crashed into him. He fell onto the floor, wincing as icy cold scales touched his own scales.

"Frostbite, I really hope that's you." Cobra said, his words muffled by the dragon atop him.

The IceWing laughed and got off him. "Of course it's me." He said. "Whitetip helped me out of the muzzle then I froze the bars enough for us to break out way free. He wanted me to do the same for the others, but I was afraid I might hurt them. I decided to come looking for something to help us."

"I have the key." Cobra said, holding it up. Frostbite grinned and bolted back down the tunnel he had just come up. Yelping in surprise, Cobra bolted after him.

Cobra emerged into the cave and skidded to a stop as he found himself face to face with a SkyWing. After a second of him panicking they were going to attack him, he realized that they hadn't even blinked when he had entered the cave.

"How...?" he started to ask, but Whitetip cut him off.

"I'm an Animus as well. I enchanted that SkyWing to freeze right where they are." he explained. "Now, can you use that key to get the others out?"

Cobra nodded, and in a few seconds he had unlocked the other two cells. Lantana bounded out of her cell, while Nightreader slowly walked out of his cell, helping Lilly carry Shadowstalker out.

"He's _still_ unconscious?" Lantana asked, her voice both surprised and worried.

"Yes." Nightreader said shortly.

Cobra went over to the center of the cave and said to the key "Enchant this key so that whatever it hits next, a super wide tunnel will form until it reaches air." He threw it upwards and it hit the ceiling of the cave, causing a tunnel to open up that eventually opened into air.

"FLY!" He roared, and everyone except him took off. Lantana paused for a second and cast him a look, but then shrugged and flew up the tunnel. Cobra watched them enter the sky, then he turned back to the entrance tunnel.

He entered the tunnel and started to walk forwards, then froze as he heard talonsteps. His tail raised to strike, but it dropped to the ground as Adder barreled around a corner, one talon covering half his face Cobra waited until his brother stopped next to him.

"What happened?" Cobra asked.

"I lit the fuses for dragonflame cactus bombs that are scattered around this complex." Adder hissed sharply. "But on my way here I ran into that RainWing and she got my face with her venom."

Cobra nodded, then together the brothers ran back into the cave where the Crystal winglet had been kept prisoner. Adder paused for a second then ran over and grabbed his metal mask, slipping it back over his face.

"Come on, we have to go now!" Cobra yelled at him.

Adder nodded and together they lifted off, flying up the tunnel. As they flew into the sky, Cobra turned back just in time to see a series of explosions decimate the entire complex. Cobra spared a glance at Adder and saw that his brother was smiling.

"What?" Cobra asked.

"Not many of his _Blazing Talons_ will have escaped." Adder responded, pointing his tail at the flaming ruins of the complex. "I doubt that we'll be seeing Inferno anytime soon."

Cobra shrugged, then turned away from the place they had been kept prisoner. "Only time will tell." he said, an they flew off towards the waiting shapes of his friends.


	10. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Cobra paced around and glared at Frostbite. The IceWing had objected to allowing Adder to travel with them ever since they had rejoined the group. Now here it was, nighttime, and the IceWing insisted on discussing that matter instead of doing more important things, like _sleeping_. Except for Shadowstalker, who was still unconscious from the RainWing blow dart, everyone was discussing Adder traveling with them or not.

"For the last time Frostbite, my brother is coming with us." Cobra hissed, his patience having long run out.

"How do we know he isn't spying on us, or reporting our position to Inferno?" Frostbite shot back.

"He blew up their complex and fought against Infernos followers! I think that's proof enough!" Cobra yelled, his temper getting the better of him.

"Cobra, stop." Adder said suddenly, his metal mask catching the light of the fire they had lit. "Let me talk."

Cobra hesitated for a second, then nodded, sitting down. Adder stood up and looked at Frostbite.

"Look IceWing, I know how I would feel if I was in your position." Adder began. "But if I was planning on doing any of that stuff, do you really think I would allow myself to get this scar?" He slid the mask off his face and put it down, then stepped forward so that the firelight illuminated his face.

Cobra stared at his brother in disbelief. The entire right side of Adders face was melted beyond recognition, bone sticking out from the scales at some locations. The melted scales went on until almost a claw width from under Adders eye.

"Adder..." Cobra began, but Adder cut him off.

"Look, Frostbite, I risked everything to buy you and your friends time. I fought a RainWing, who gave me this. Let me tell you, if that RainWings venom had gotten into my eye, I would be dead right now." Adder said, his eyes locked with the IceWings gaze.

Frostbite stared at Adders ruined face, speechless. Adder walked back over to where he had set his mask down and picked it up, sliding it back on. "I only went to Inferno because I heard he needed strong followers." He said, his voice low. "Now though, I think my destiny is tied into yours."

Nightreader coughed slightly and Frostbite turned to look at him. The NightWing hesitated, then said "I have actually seen Adder in our future, traveling with us."

Frostbite sighed. "Well, I guess you can stay." He said, then added coldly. "But if I discover that you're crossing us, then I will personally deal with you myself."

Adder nodded and sat down. Cobra took advantage of the momentary silence to say "Tomorrow we're going to Possibility so that we can rest and strategize."

Everyone nodded, then after a couple of silent minutes Lantana spoke up.

"I think we should move somewhere covered." She said simply. They all looked at her and a few of them opened their mouths to ask her what she meant, when suddenly the sky opened up and it started pouring rain. Everyone yelled in surprise and scurried to the cover of a nearby tree, Adder carrying the still unconscious form of Shadowstalker.

"Thanks for the warning." Whitetip grumbled, shaking himself off.

Lantana grinned slyly at the SeaWing, but before she could say anything back, Nightreader groaned. Every pair of eyes shot to him as he sat down on the ground, his talons pressed against his temples.

"Nightreader, what's wrong?" Cobra asked, concern evident in his voice.

Nightreader looked at him after a couple of seconds and said in amazement "There's a second prophecy foretelling Jade Mountains destruction!"

 **A/N:**

 **So, book 1 comes to a close. I will be writing six more books with the Crystal winglet, one for each remaining dragonet. Book Two: Possibility, will be from the POV of Lantana. Also, I am thinking about writing a story about what happened in Adders life before we meet him in the Blazing Talons. But I'm not sure if you guys want to read that story. So, if you do, or if you don't, leave a review telling what your answer is and why you either want or don't want it.**

 **Also, OC requests are once again open! You can do whatever tribe you want, even hybrids, but please, _PLEASE_ , remember to use this format:**

 **Name:**

 **Age:**

 **Gender:**

 **Tribe:**

 **Description:**

 **Jewlery:**

 **Powers (Animus, Mind Reading, Future Sight):**

 **Other:**

 **Until next time, my dedicated readers!**

 **-Darkstalker728**


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